


It's been a long war

by BlazingStarInInkyBlackness



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Angst, By about three seconds, Drabble, Post-Season/Series 13
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-01
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-29 10:31:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5124263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlazingStarInInkyBlackness/pseuds/BlazingStarInInkyBlackness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sarge looks over his soldiers, the men he has to lead once more. Sometimes it's difficult to remember just why they're still there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's been a long war

**Author's Note:**

> There's a motto I made up for Red Vs Blue; Watch RVB as a comedy, if you don't then it may just break your heart.

In the direct aftermath of the battle there was nothing the Sim troopers could do.

Tucker was in agony, Epsilon having fragmented himself inside his head. Tucker just couldn’t cope with the thoughts that were streaming through him as each AI tried to adjust itself to this new life.

Wash had ripped the chip from Tuckers head in seconds and shoved it into his own, he had experience with Epsilon trying to kill himself. It didn’t stop the agony.

Grif had to sit at the side, clutching Simmons who held his hands to his ears, the fragments screaming into all the electronics they could find in some semblance of hope that Epsilon would come back, that Alpha would come back, that they could be whole again.

Caboose just wanted Church back. He didn’t understand what was happening but he knew Church wasn’t there anymore, knew, somehow, that the last memories of his friend had vanished.

The AIs that rampaged through Tucker and Wash’s minds weren’t Church anymore. They weren’t even emotions, just base survival instincts trying to be the one to survive.

After just a few minutes they turned on each other, each fighting for supremacy.

Donut stared on in horror as Wash screamed, a long torturous sound that reminded him all too much of a death rattle. He’d heard far too many of those over the years.

Doc simply stood there, the part of him that was O’Mally quaked in fear. Omega had been split, once upon a time. He’d felt the pain of separation, the loneliness. Even though O’Mally himself was long gone, destroyed along with the others, the part that resided in Doc called out for the AI fragments as they killed each other.

Carolina got the message quickly and tried to contact Epsilon, yelling down the line for her brother, the last part of her family left alive.

The hiss of static and the screams of the AIs was all that she got. She also knew those too well.

They all just watched while Wash screamed, his mind a battleground for the AIs. He was barely conscious but any time someone tried to take out the chip he’d fight back, the AIs controlling his body to throw them away.

When Tucker woke up again he tried fighting until Wash had pleaded with him not to. It was only then that the aqua soldier had retreated back, sitting as far away from the others as he possibly could.

He’d taken off the Meta’s suit, thrown it to the ground in disgust. Instead he wore his own armour and he’d never felt less comfortable in it.

It was hours later when they finally heard Wash’s screams die down. He whimpered as the final AI; Upsilon came out on top. Wash saw the vengeance in Upsilon’s fragmented mind as he wiped the last part of Psi’s code.

Wash curled in on himself, sobbing. He’d lost a friend and yet again his mind had been ripped apart by Epsilon. But this time Wash couldn’t help piece Epsilon back together.

The sound of three Pelicans approaching didn’t make Wash stop. Tucker rushed to his side and huddled down, trying to make Wash listen to him, talk to him, do anything god Damnit!

Wash could barely open his eyes.

 

Sarge looked over them all with tired eyes.

He’d known Church for a long time. He had never known him like Tucker had, he hadn’t known Epsilon like Wash had but he respected the other commander. He’d known him too long for him not to.

But Church had left, he could have sent two of his men insane. He could even have sent Simmons insane. Looking over at Simmons Sarge saw Grif huddled next to him, their helmets on the floor.

Their faces were pressed against each so closely that it was as if Simmons was complete again, the harsh metal hid behind pale skin which then slowly merged into Grif’s darker tones. Sarge pretended not to notice the tears on their faces.

Caboose was simply staring at Church’s laser eyes, he’d given up talking to it a while back. Sarge didn’t even know where he was going to start with that one.

Donut and Doc were sat next to each other. O’Mally was obviously out but he was different, he was quieter and Sarge could almost swear he was talking to Donut, rather than promising to kill him.

Sarge heaved a sigh and stood, hearing his bones click. He was getting on, he knew that. He should have been retired years ago, mind still stuck back in that damn canyon. He didn’t know why they were there, why they’d ever been put there.

But as he looked around the group he cursed a God he no longer believed in that they had been put there. As he stood the red team looked to him. He couldn’t face how they looked.

Donut’s scar was obvious, pale spidery lines covering his eye, he’d so nearly lost that thing. Simmons and Grif were a mess of scars, metal and shoddy stitching. The scars wouldn’t ever go. And even with all the technology they had, Simmons would never get his eye back.

Wash and Tucker might be beyond help, Sarge realised. The destruction of Epsilon had driven Wash insane the first time around, no matter how much he argued it didn’t. This seemed worse somehow. It wasn’t just a bunch of memories, it was a friend killing himself.

Caboose still didn’t understand. He couldn’t understand. The brain damage had shorted out so much, stopped him from being who he could be. Rather than the genius with machines he had once been he was a husk; life and intelligence drained by this goddamn war.

Sarge had spent his life in the army, had the scars to show for it and the medals. War had created him and war had refined him. But now, looking at the men he had to lead he knew something else; war had destroyed him. It had destroyed them all.

“It’s time to go home boys.”

**Author's Note:**

> Now then, if you're wondering why Wash is there then I will give you the following explanation.  
> I included Wash so that I could delve further into the intricate relationship between Wash and Epsilon, the AI that drove him mad but the AI that also eventually helped him reunite with Carolina and saved him.  
> I also wanted Wash to be beside the Blood Gulch gang to show that they aren't the only ones hurt by the war. Wash fought the war long before they were ever put inside that canyon and even after Project Freelancer fell he was still fighting for his sanity. He's seen his friends turn on each other, he's seen Epsilon be tortured and I reckon he holds those memories as his own al this time later.  
> He is one of the few people who can understand Maine and then he is the person to traverse the land with the shell of his friend and a collection of creatures so similar to the ones that drove him insane. Wash had to go from the weakest link in the project to the strongest link and he had to do this so he could stop history repeating itself.  
> And I most definitely did not write him in because I forgot he wasn't there.  
> Definitely.


End file.
